It is easy to claim — on behalf of a nation, on behalf of a generation, on behalf of yourself as an individual — a progressive attitude much too advanced for destructive, discriminatory ideologies. It is easy to believe and maintain that you see beyond borders, that a common identity as humans makes differences in nationalities or cultures immaterial and arbitrary.

It is easy to put a “drop the I-word” sticker on your laptop, put a turquoise yard sign out that reads “no human being is illegal,” write an irate Facebook post in response to deportations and the possible repeal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

It is easy to believe that xenophobia has no hold over your mind or beliefs.

It is harder to explain why, for a split second, you let out an internal groan when a student with a heavy French accent was assigned to your group in class. It is difficult to justify why you subconsciously scrolled past the articles authored by names you couldn’t pronounce, opting instead for research by (insert male Anglo-European name) of (insert recognizable university name here).

It is uncomfortable to confront my own involuntary surprise in realizing half of the students in my Professional Public Policy course were from other countries, and that each one has a much more sophisticated understanding of our American government than I do.

Does xenophobia exist? Of course.

Am I xenophobic? I’d like to say no. Certainly not intentionally.

Am I xenophobic? Yes.

Are you xenophobic? Probably.

A study conducted by the University of Toronto and Ryerson University further confirmed the already well-documented existence of subconscious xenophobia. According to this research, job applicants with “Asian-sounding names” were 28 percent less likely to receive an interview offer than equally-qualified applicants with Anglo-sounding names.

Were any of these employers openly anti-Asian? I doubt it. Instead, it is much more likely that they are just like most of the rest of us. They, too, have internalized xenophobia entrenched in their everyday thoughts and decisions.

You may be feeling a bit defensive now. I feel it too — this is a very inconvenient reality to address. After all, why should we focus on these small imperfections rather than on those calling for a wall or on the ladies at Starbucks that yell at people speaking their native language? They are surely a much bigger problem.

That fight is already underway, and in a way it is a much easier one for us to engage in. And we are not wrong for jumping in before we are perfect actors. But internal reflection and adjustment is equally necessary while we take on the “bigger enemy.” Until then, we are unintentionally equipping and enabling the very ideologies we fight against.

Simply being cognitive of how these internalized xenophobic principles manifest can aid us in self-correcting. Active recognition and evaluation must become a daily exercise if we consider ourselves capable of breaking down these unwelcome beliefs for ourselves and others.

In other words, we all have a lot of work to do. We must challenge xenophobia on all fronts, both external and internal, despite the discomfort.

Gabriella Rivera is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted on Twitter @gabbychlamps, or at news@dailylobo.com. She describes herself as of Cuban and Peruvian descent.

Elizabeth Sanchez made final edits to the English and Spanish translations. She is the editor-in-chief at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Beth_A_Sanchez.